Electrically powered vehicles such as electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have been steadily gaining popularity. Currently, the electrically powered vehicles have somewhat limited driving ranges, for example varying from several tens of miles to a few hundred miles on a single full charge. As such, the drivers of electrically powered vehicles need to know that they can charge the battery of their vehicle while being out on the road. Many charging stations for the electrically powered vehicles have been deployed along highways or local roads recently, thereby alleviating some of the concerns of drivers of these vehicles.
However, the charging of these electrically powered vehicles may also take a very long time based on their level classification (e.g. 1, 2 etc. based on their charging capacity). Depending on the type of charging equipment offered at the charging station, the charging could take anywhere from 15 minutes (quick charger) to several hours. If a driver of an electrically powered vehicle selects a random charging station on the driving route to charge his/her vehicle, all the charging equipment positioned at that station may already be in use. Therefore, that driver would have to suffer from the delay caused by waiting for other people to charge their vehicles. This delay may be frustrating to the driver. Existing navigation guides or route optimization tools using smart phone apps lack the capability to predict whether a particular charging station will have unoccupied charging equipment by the time the driver reaches that charging station.
Accordingly, although existing methods and devices for navigating and optimizing routes for electrically powered vehicles are generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in every aspect. There is a need in the art for improved navigation guides and route optimization tools for electrically powered vehicles.